Top tips for a tip-top presentation

Know the feeling of dread as a presentation date approaches? Anxiety about public speaking (or glossophobia) can be debilitating. In our busy working lives, we’re often called on to speak — at meetings, conferences, or training days.

According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

Chris Anderson, the head of TED, believes that a well-delivered talk can be more powerful and persuasive than a written document. Chris spoke on RNZ a few days ago about his top tips for delivering a TED talk. Here they are.

Use fear as your motivator — let it inspire you to get ready well in advance.

Be prepared — rehearsing turns your nervousness to excitement.

Decide how you’re going to approach your talk from the start — will you memorise or speak in the moment?

Speak for others; speak for your idea — you’re not speaking about yourself, rather about your idea and why it matters.

Do some push-ups before going on stage — what, really? Yes, a little physical activity will help burn off some of that ‘fight or flight’ adrenaline and make you feel calmer.

And we’ve got one more tip: come along to our Presentation Skills workshop and feel confident about your content and how you’ll deliver it.

We can’t promise to turn you into a TED speaker overnight. But we can get you well along the way.